


Christmas Gifts 2017

by reiirae



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project, Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha!Lance, Alpha!Shiro, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Grand Theft Auto Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Aro!Keith, Canon Universe, Fake AH Crew, Multi, Omega!Keith, Omega!Lance, Pack Dynamics, Seme!Kotori
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 07:48:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 19,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13142214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reiirae/pseuds/reiirae
Summary: All of this years Christmas Gifts prompts! Ships and related themes are in chapter notes. Chapter names are the dedications.





	1. For Kin

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt: The Blade of Marmora being a big pack and looking after Keith as a child.**

Having a half-human, half-Galra child to look after was more of a challenge than Kollivan had expected. The characteristic fiery temper and stubbornness was clearly handed down from his mother, he had soon realised. Taking him away from the horrors of the Galra Empire was possibly the best decision Kollivan could have made, especially with the knowledge descended from a member of the Blades. How he had even made his way into the Empire’s hands was unknown to everyone. Kollivan vowed to train Keith personally once he was old enough to receive training, and eventually he would become a full Blade.

Years had passed since Keith had been brought to the Blade of Marmora, and the youngest member had been taken into their pack with ease. The Blades had always had a family-like pack bond, and Kollivan’s status as pack alpha made it much easier to accept Keith as a member of them, despite his lack of full membership. Antok, Thace and Ulaz all took a shining to the younger Blade, constantly around fussing him despite their usually stoic exteriors; it was almost amusing, in fact. Kollivan often scolded them for spoiling him, but it was often half-hearted - his affection for the boy was just as strong.

“Hey, Kollivan!” chimed a small voice, echoing through the cavernous hallways of their base. 

“Yes, Keith?” came Kollivan’s response. He winced at the tiredness evident in his voice, trying to distract himself from that in pushing the paperwork he was looking over to one side. The small halfblood frowned slightly, glancing up at the stack of papers.

“What’re you doing?” he asked, nuzzling against his packmate’s side. Kollivan purred in response, ruffling Keith’s hair.

“Nothing that concerns you, small one,” he murmured, wrapping an arm protectively around Keith. The boy keened contently, eyes still fixed on the work.

“Looks important.” he stated simply, the frown returning to his face.

Kollivan sighed, pushing it further away and focusing his attention on the younger male. “I promise you, Keith, it is nothing that should concern you. It is not that important.”

Keith frowned, but seemed to accept this explanation. There was a pause before he continued, “I’m bored.” 

Kollivan chuckled softly, pressing a kiss to the top of Keith’s head. “I’m sorry, am I too boring for you?” he teased.

“Your paperwork is.” Keith pouted, narrowing his eyes. “Please, Kollivan. I might die of boredom.” the younger whined dramatically, leaning on his leader. 

“I’m sure Ulaz and Thace are not busy.” Kollivan offered, much to Keith’s dismay. 

“Yeah, but I always hang out with them! I want _you_ , Kollivan!” Keith complained, whimpering quietly. The smaller male rubbed himself against his leader’s chest, taking in the familiar scent. Kollivan sighed, running a hand through Keith’s hair and rubbing the tips of his fluffy ears.

“Let me finish this last paper, and I’ll join you.” Kollivan caved, earning a delighted giggle from Keith. 

~

Kollivan knew better than to keep Keith waiting - the youngest member was often a nightmare if he’d been promised attention and didn’t receive it. A soft smile flickered across his face as he marched down the long corridors, shaking his head. Keith knew what he wanted and just how to get it. 

“Kollivan?” came a voice from behind him. His ears pricked up, recognising the voice as Thace’s almost immediately.

“Thace?” he responded, pausing and turning slightly to meet his packmate’s eyes. 

“Keith was looking for you.”

Kollivan chuckled softly, nodding. “He found me. I’m just going to get him now.” 

“You are?” Thace murmured, smiling. “Do you...mind if I join you?” he asked, somewhat timidly, and Kollivan nodded. 

“I’m sure Keith will be delighted to have all of our attention on him.” Kollivan mused, to which Thace smiled in response.

“He’s got practically everyone’s attention around here. It’s not like he’s deprived of it.” Thace added affectionately. “He spends a lot of time with Ulaz, actually. They’re close.”

“Ulaz was always affectionate of Keith from the moment he arrived.” Kollivan stated, nodding slightly. “It is no surprise they have a strong bond.” 

“Did Ulaz...know Keith’s mother?” Thace asked, somewhat tentatively.

His leader tensed, ears flattening back slightly. He didn’t respond for a few moments, and when he did his voice was cold. “Yes. He knew her for a few months before her death. He was not the only one, though. I was fond of her.”

“I-I’m sorry. I should never have mentioned it.” Thace apologised quickly, fixing his gaze on the floor.

“No, no, it’s...it’s fine.” Kollivan insisted, shaking his head. “I just...she didn’t deserve to die how she did. I wish things were different and she could still be here.”

“We all do, Kollivan. But we have Keith, and she’d want us to do whatever we can for him.” 

Kollivan nodded his agreement, a slight smile appearing on his features. “You are correct. And Keith is the spit image of his mother, both in body and mind.”

“I wish I could’ve had the privilege to meet her.” Thace mused, shaking his head. “But at least I’ve met Keith.”

“Yes. You are good at taking care of him, you know. He’s extremely fond of you.” Thace’s features lit up with a small smile, and Kollivan laughed softly. “You look happy to hear that.”

“Of course I am. Keith is my packmate, after all.”

The pair were cut off by the sound of Keith’s delighted yelling, and a few seconds later the smaller halfblood launched himself at Kollivan. The Galra lifted him with ease, holding his tiny body close and purring deeply. He buried his face into Kollivan’s neck, drinking in the familiar scent or his pack alpha. “Hello, Keith. You seem pleased.” Kollivan commented, a smile crossing his features.

“Yeah, because you finally came to play with me!” the smaller boy squeaked, gripping harder on Kollivan’s shoulders. He then turned his focus to Thace, bright smile fixed to his features. “You came too, Thace?”

“Yes, I did.” Thace replied, gently ruffling Keith’s hair. 

The boy’s smile widened, giggling softly as Kollivan placed him back on the floor. “Come on! Antok and Ulaz are here too!” he cried, grasping both of their wrists to lead them into the room. Thace and Kollivan shared a glance before smiling knowingly, following their smaller packmate into the room.


	2. For Audrey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Basically a Klance soulmate AU where Keith and Allura work in Starbucks and meet Keith’s future soulmate aka Lance.**

“I don’t understand how it’s so difficult to explain your drink order properly.” Allura grumbled, bending down to place another load of mugs into the dishwasher.

Keith sighed softly, brushing his soft black hair out of his eyes and shaking his head. “Some people seem to think we’re telepathic.” he joked, crouching beside Allura. He grabbed a pair of mugs and loaded them, earning a warm smile from his companion.

“Thanks, Keith.” she murmured appreciatively. She straightened up, dusting sugar off her apron and adjusting her hair. “I doubt we’ll be too busy between now and closing. Nobody comes in this late.” she commented, leaning back against the counter. “Anything much been happening for you recently?” 

Keith ran a hand through his hair, tugging slightly before meeting Allura’s eyes. “Nothing much...except I had a dream a few nights ago.”

“You had...a dream?” Allura repeated, her eyes widening slightly. “Was it… _that_ dream?”

“I don’t know, Allura. The guy was nonspecific at best. They’re supposed to tell you where to find them, right? Well, he didn’t. He just said he’ll see me soon.” 

“Maybe it’s because they’re already close by?” the girl suggested, furrowing her eyebrows slightly. “I don’t know, Keith. I suppose you’ll just have to wait and see, huh?”

Keith nodded, sighing defeatedly. “Maybe it’s just me being stupidly hopeful.” he mumbled, playing with the frayed strings of his apron. 

“Don’t be silly, Keith. I’m sure he’s out there, whether it’s the guy from your dream or not.” Allura offered comfortingly. “Now you have to tell me. Is he cute?” 

“You’re so predictable Allura.” the raven-haired boy laughed. “Yeah, he’s cute. Tall, tan, maybe Spanish? Bright blue eyes, brown hair. Nice smile.” he murmured, voice gradually dropping quieter.

“Aww, Keith, you’re adorable when you’re in love!” Allura squealed, pulling Keith into a firm hug. “I can’t wait to meet him, if he’s the one.” she whispered against his ear. 

The two were disturbed by the sound of somebody clearing their throat behind them. Keith rapidly shoved Allura away, face flushing a hot red. Allura giggled softly, adjusting her hair before making her way to the register. “Sorry about that, guys. Welcome to Starbucks! What can I get you?” 

Keith busied himself with tidying away a stack of plastic cups to avoid meeting the eyes of the customers. He could hear Allura taking orders in her usual bright, friendly tone, and he wondered how she managed to appear so calm after the scene the group had just walked in on.

“Hey, Keith, can you sort this?” Allura’s voice startled Keith back into reality. 

“Uh, y-yeah, sure…” Keith mumbled, taking the paper from Allura’s hand and reading it over. 

“Don’t look so embarrassed, Keith. They probably didn’t think anything of it.” she whispered, moving away to grab another mug. “Besides, you’ll probably never see them again. They’re not regulars.” 

Keith nodded, taking little consolation from Allura’s words. He composed himself, though, his cheeks returning to their normal temperature and his heart slowing to a more regular rate. Reading the order a second time, he took one of the cups he was tidying away and set to work on the drink.

“Hey, Keith. Look over there.” Allura whispered, indicating towards the group of people waiting to collect their drinks. “He looks kinda like somebody you’ve mentioned before.”

Keith’s head snapped up at those words, eyes trained on the small group. It took Keith a moment to work out which person Allura was referring to before his eyes fell upon the boy stood in between the other two. Keith’s heart skipped a beat as he registered the boy’s appearance - tall, tan, bright blue eyes, pretty smile…

“Here. Go take them their drinks.” Allura’s voice cut into Keith’s thoughts, forcing him back into reality. He nodded minutely as he took the tray from Allura and slowly walked towards the group. 

“Uh...h-hey, here’s your drinks…” Keith mumbled, keeping his eyes down to hide his flushed cheeks. He heard a small gasp from one of the members of the group, head snapping up in response.

“Hey, you...you look like someone.” came a voice from above Keith, which he eventually realised to be that of the boy from his dream. 

He fought to compose himself before replying, and when he did it came out quietly. “I do?”

“Yeah...what’s your name?” 

“K-Keith.” he responded, pointing to his name tag with a weak smile. “Yours?”

“I’m Lance. Nice to meet you.” the brunet replied cheerfully, taking his drink from the counter. “Listen, I need to talk to you…” 

“Yeah. I finish in an hour or so if you wanna find me after my shift.” Keith offered, biting the inside of his cheek. He could sense the urgency Lance was clearly trying to suppress, and Keith would’ve found it endearing if he wasn’t currently occupied in keeping his excitement from showing. 

“Sure. I’ll come see you, yeah? Here’s my number, just in case.” Lance smiled, grabbing a napkin and quickly scribbling down a series of digits before handing it back to Keith. 

“T-Thanks,” Keith mumbled, ducking his head to hide the bright flush dusting his cheeks from Lance. He heard the taller boy laugh, and then felt fingers gently lift his chin back up.

“Don’t hide. You’re cute when you blush.” Lance stated simply, winking as he spoke. “Anyway, I’ll see you later, okay?” 

Keith nodded dumbly as Lance and his friends left, turning to face Allura once they’d gone. “I see you found him, huh?” Allura teased, placing down the towel she was holding and leaning against the wall. “He’s definitely cute.”

“S-Shut up, Allura!”

~

The next three hours passed surprisingly quickly, despite the lack of customers. As his shift drew to a close, Keith felt a twist of anxiety in his stomach. 

“You doing okay?” Allura asked gently, ruffling the small boy’s hair. 

“Y-Yeah. Kinda worried, but okay,” Keith admitted as he began to untie his apron. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

Allura giggled, nodding in agreement. “I’m sure everything will be just fine, Keith. But you better tell me what happens regardless.” 

Keith nodded, a quiet laugh escaping as he ran a hand through his hair. “Of course I will, Allura. You’d never let me live if I didn’t.”

“You know me so well!” Allura laughed, taking her hair out of the long ponytail it was tied into. “Now go get your stuff. You don’t want to keep loverboy waiting!” she teased, shoving Keith into the back playfully.

Before long Keith was outside in the cold winter air, hands shoved into his pockets to protect them from the icy weather. “Hey, Keith?” a voice called from behind him.

“Lance?”

“Yeah. Good to see you.” the brunet smiled as he walked towards Keith. “I, uh, need to talk to you.” 

“Okay. Go ahead.” Keith bit his lip, resisting the urge to squeeze his eyes shut as Lance lead him down the pavement.

“So, uh, you know about soulmates, right?” Lance began, glancing at Keith before continuing. “The whole dream thing? Where you see them in your dreams and they tell you where they are or if they’re not old enough yet?” he finished, turning to the smaller boy beside him again.

Keith nodded, smiling comfortingly. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I...I saw you in my dream, Lance. Or at least, I think it was you.” 

“You did?” Lance yelped, eyes lighting up with excitement. “I-I saw you too!”

The smaller boy laughed softly, biting the inside of the his cheek before slipping his hand into Lance’s. The brunet started before interlocking his fingers with Keith’s, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of his head. “I can’t believe it’s really you.” Keith mumbled, ducking his head again.

“You’re cuter in real life, you know.” Lance commented, lifting Keith’s chin with his free hand again. “You were totally cute in my dream, but damn, real Keith is so much better.” 

Keith felt his face heat up at Lance’s words, resisting the urge to duck his head again as he spoke. “You’re pretty hot too, Lance.” he murmured, voice barely audible. He heard Lance laugh, and felt the other boy turn his face to lock eyes with him.

“You’re definitely cuter in real life.” he murmured, pressing his forehead against Keith’s. The smaller boy’s eyes widened in surprise, but as Lance’s arms wrapped around his waist he felt himself relax into the the other’s grip. “Hey, Keith. Can I kiss you?”

“P-Please do.” Keith murmured shyly, letting his eyes slip shut as he felt Lance’s lips press firmly against his. The kiss was short and sweet, but it still left Keith breathless. 

“How was that?” Lance whispered, a small smirk appearing on his features.”

“Pretty good, as far as first kisses go.” Keith raised an eyebrow, tilting his head ever so slightly to one side. “There’s always room for improvement, though.” 

Lance’s laugh rang out in the quiet streets, and Keith felt a smile stretch across his face. “You’re the cutest guy I’ve ever met, Keith.”


	3. For Torn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: A/B/O Shance just after Shiro has been injured and Lance is basically worrying about him.**

“Never do that again, Shiro. You hear me?” Lance threatened, voice trembling with fear despite the anger he tried to fill it with.

“I’m sorry, Lance, it was an accident. It should never have happened.” Shiro murmured, grabbing his mate’s hand and rubbing his thumb against the back of it reassuringly. “I’m here, and I’m okay, and so is Keith. Everything is fine.” 

Lance let out a short sigh of relief as he leaned against the man’s side. “I was so worried about you.” he whispered, letting his eyes slip shut.

“I didn’t mean to worry you, baby.” Shiro wrapped an arm lightly around his companion’s shoulders. “Have you...have you seen Keith?” he asked hesitantly, biting his bottom lip.

“Yeah. He’s okay. He broke his arm, but he’s gonna be okay.” Lance replied, nuzzling against Shiro. “He says he hopes you get well soon. Knowing Keith, he’ll probably come visit you as soon as they let him out.” 

Shiro smiled, obviously relieved to hear the state of his friend was not fatal. “I’m just glad neither of us died, really,” he commented, a small sigh escaping as he tightened his hold on Lance. “I really thought Keith wasn’t gonna make it...there was so much blood…”

Lance winced at the crack in Shiro’s voice, burying his face in the taller male’s neck in an attempt to comfort him. His alpha growled appreciatively, shifting to offer Lance more space. “I’m glad too. I don’t know what I woulda done if either of you died.” he whimpered.

“Don’t think about that, baby. We’re both okay, I promise.” he comforted, pressing a kiss to Lance’s temple.

Lance curled up against Shiro’s side, lightly running his fingertips down the bandages there. “It looks real bad, Shiro.”

“I won’t lie, it’s painful.” Shiro winced, smiling despite his obvious pain.

“I’m gonna murder whoever crashed into you guys, I swear.” Lance growled, hiding his face in the crook of Shiro’s neck. “I don’t like it when you’re in pain.” 

“I’m gonna be okay, though. It won’t be long before I can go home.” Shiro promised, running his fingers through the omega’s thick brown hair. His mate chittered softly in delight, eliciting a soft laugh from Shiro as he kissed the top of Lance’s head.

Lance lifted his head to frown up at Shiro, narrowing his bright blue eyes. “How long? Did they tell you yet?” he pressed, nibbling his bottom lip. “Will it be today?”

Shiro chuckled softly at his omega’s hopeful voice before shaking his head. “They still gotta run some more tests, check everything is definitely okay. Don’t wanna send me home and find out something needs looking at.” 

The smaller boy sighed impatiently, flopping back onto Shiro. His mate hissed in pain, instantly making Lance shift. “Sorry, I forgot…” he mumbled, ducking his head.

“It’s fine, Lance. You’re not that heavy anyway. Just sudden pressure.” his alpha reassured, a soft smile flickering across his features. He wrapped a strong arm back around Lance’s shoulders. “You don’t mind staying a little longer, do you?” Shiro asked, a sudden shyness colouring his voice.

Lance laughed before snuggling into the warmth and comforting scent of his mate. “Of course. I’m staying until visiting hours are over.” he promised, earning a quiet growl from Shiro. “Your scent smells different. It smells...cleaner.” he commented, a slight frown crumpling his features.

“That’s probably because I’ve been here so long. They’ve had to give me injections and things like that, Lance. It’s probably knocking my scent off a little,” Shiro explained, tightening his grip on his mate. “It’ll go back to normal soon, I’m sure.”

“I’ll sue them if it doesn’t.” Lance threatened, growling playfully.

“I don’t doubt you,” Shiro joked, smiling fondly at his omega. “But wait until I’ve left, okay? I can do without the hospital going into debt while I’m still here.” 

The brunet giggled softly, offering his neck to Shiro. “I still smell the same,” he murmured, fixing his eyes on the man. “If that’s any comfort to you.”

His alpha smiled, tracing over the silvery bond mark on Lance’s neck. “It always is, Lance.” he murmured, leaning down to kiss the mark and drink in the cool scent of his mate. “You smell beautiful.” 

“I love you, Shiro,” the omega murmured, growling contently in the back of his throat.

“I love you too, Lance. Always.” Shiro responded, voice muffled by his mate’s skin. He nipped at the mark softly, eliciting a quiet moan from Lance.

“Not here, Shiro.” Lance mumbled, half-heartedly pushing the other away. 

“I know, I know, I won’t try anything,” Shiro whispered. He reluctantly pulled away, drawing Lance closer to him as he did. “That doesn’t stop me from cuddling you, though.”

Lance’s eyes lit up at the words, and he promptly laid his head on Shiro’s shoulder. He lifted a hand to lazily trace the scar on his alpha’s nose, a slight crease appearing on his forehead. “Y’know, the doctor made it sound so much worse. ‘Permanent facial damage’ or something crazy like that. I was expecting you to not have a nose at all,” Lance murmured, laughing softly.

“Doctors like to make things sound over dramatic.” Shiro chuckled, resting his head atop the smaller male’s. “I’ll admit, they did a good job of cleaning it up. It’s not the prettiest thing in the world, but it could be a lot worse.”

“I still think you’re handsome.” Lance murmured, letting his fingertips trace down the man’s jawline and across the matching bond mark on his neck. “I couldn’t find you unattractive, though. Even if you had no nose.” 

“So you’re saying Voldemort isn’t too bad looking?”

“No, but Shiro-Voldemort wouldn’t be ugly to me.” Lance retorted, rolling his eyes. “Don’t make me admit my secret crush on Voldemort.”

“I knew it!” Shiro laughed, ruffling his mate’s hair. “You have some strange beauty standards, babe.” 

“Shut up. Aren’t sick people supposed to be quiet?”

“I’m not sick. Just injuried,” the alpha reminded him, raising an eyebrow. “If it bothers you so much, you could always go hang out with Keith.”

Lance gagged, shaking his head vehemently. “I’d rather die!” he yelped, his disgust evident on his face. “That’s why I sent Hunk to go check on him.” 

Shiro laughed, rolling his eyes. “Ever the dramatic one, aren’t you?” he teased, lowering his face to meet Lance’s gaze. “I know you hate each other, but he’s a sweetheart deep down. You should try getting to know him.”

“Like I said, I’d rather die.” Lance frowned, shuddering. “I don’t see why you like him.”

“Well, he _is_ my cousin, Lance. We’ve known each other since we were kids.” he replied, shaking his head slightly. “You never gave him a chance.” 

“If I remember rightly, he’s the one who threw a book at my head on the first day.” Lance argued, glowering at Shiro. “Just thinking about him makes me angry.”

Shiro laughed quietly, pressing a quick kiss to Lance’s lips before pulling away to sit up straight again. “We should stop talking about him in that case.”

“You should get some sleep. I don’t wanna keep you up.” Lance murmured, kissing his mate’s cheek before sliding off the bed.

“I am pretty tired,” Shiro admitted, laying down and smiling at his lover. “You sure you don’t mind me sleeping? I can stay up until you leave if you’d like.” he offered, to which Lance shook his head.

“Nah. I’ll grab Hunk and head home. You heal faster when you’re sleeping.” his omega smiled reassuringly and leaned down to kiss him one last time.

Shiro pulled him down further, burying his nose in the brunet’s neck to take in his scent. Lance felt a smile crawl across his features, sighing softly as he pulled away. 

“Never scare me like that again.” Lance whispered softly, locking eyes with Shiro’s. 

“I’ll try not to, baby.” Shiro murmured, eyes slipping shut again.


	4. For Fran

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: A/B/O Klance where Keith finds out Lance is cheating on him with Lotor, and leaves him.**

“I can smell him on you. Sit down and tell me the truth.” 

Lance froze at the sound of his boyfriend’s voice, eyes widening in surprise. “W-Whaddya mean, Keith?” he asked anxiously, taking in the malice in the smaller boy’s eyes.

“You heard me. Sit down. You better have a good fucking excuse, McClain.” Keith spat, stalking closer. “Get your ass in here before I drag you in myself.”

“Okay, okay, I’m coming!” Lance yelped, hurriedly shuffling in and perching on the edge of the table. “What’s up, babe?”

“Don’t call me that.” Keith snarled, narrowing his violet eyes. “Where were you?”

“Work. I got kept late.” 

“Uh-huh. And Lotor?” he demanded, the scowl on his face deepening. 

“Probably still there. Why?”

“You smell just like him.”

Lance’s eyes widened at Keith’s words, biting his bottom lip sharply. “W-Well, we do work in the same office and all..” he began, smiling tensely. 

“Wouldn’t I be able to smell everyone else there if that were true?” the raven haired boy retorted, drawing himself up to his full, albeit short, height. 

“I-I dunno, maybe?” Lance scrambled for words, averting his eyes from Keith’s steely gaze.

“You’re un-fucking-believable, McClain.” Keith growled, gripping Lance’s chin hard and yanking his head back to face him. “I’m done. It’s over, you fucking cheater.” 

Keith’s words took Lance aback, causing him to start violently before getting up to grab the smaller male’s arm. “Wait, Keith, no, you’ve got it all wrong-“

The omega whipped around to snarl in Lance’s face, eyes burning brightly. “Oh yeah? What did I get so wrong, huh? I know you’ve been with him. People have seen you together, and people talk. Even Shiro told me. And you know what?” he murmured, eyes dropping momentarily. “I didn’t believe him. Because I didn’t think you’d do something as shitty as that. But apparently I was wrong, and you’re just as much of a dick as everyone said.” he growled, violently pulling his arm out of Lance’s grip and continuing to walk away.

“Please, Keith, listen to me!” the brunet begged, darting in front of Keith to block his path. 

“What could you possibly have to say now?” Keith muttered, glaring at the alpha before him. 

“I didn’t- it wasn’t- I’m sorry, Keith, I didn’t mean to do it…” he mumbled, face flushing bright red. “Really, Keith, I didn’t wanna…”

“You didn’t want to?” the smaller male snarled, narrowing his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“N-No, that came out wrong, b-but...Keith, I love you and only you.” Lance begged, grabbing Keith’s hands and holding them up to his face. “I really do. It was stupid, and I should never have done this to you.” he murmured.

Keith scowled, yanking his hands away from Lance and stepping backwards. “Don’t touch me. Get the fuck _away_ , Lance!” he warned, baring his small fangs. “I said I’m done. I meant it.”

“Keith…” Lance tried, unhappiness clear in his tone. Keith simply rolled his eyes, turning away from the boy before him. 

“Move. I need to get my stuff.” he demanded, never once turning to meet eyes with Lance.

“But K-Keith, we can work this out...I swear-“ Lance pleaded, resisting the urge to step closer to the raven-haired boy. 

“I don’t wanna work it out. I’m nobody’s second choice.” Keith snarled, finally turning to shoot daggers at Lance. “Run back to Lotor, will you? Maybe if you fuck off fast enough I won’t tell him what a cheating dickhead you are.” he threatened, shoving past Lance.

Lance gasped as the air was knocked from his lungs, watching Keith storm upstairs helplessly. A few moments later Lance found himself following the omega, standing in the doorway once again. “Don’t do this, Keith, please…”

Keith turned, tear tracks staining his face. “Don’t talk to me! Fuck off, won’t you?” he yelled, voice cracking as he spoke. 

“Please, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you like this…” he offered weakly, slowly stepping into the room.

“If you loved me you’d fuck off.” Keith spat, turning back to shoving his belongings into a bag. The venom in his voice was gone, though; all Lance could hear how was hurt. “I don’t wanna see your face ever again, McClain, and I mean it.” 

Lance crouched a few feet behind the boy, biting the inside of cheek in agitation. “I love you more than anything, Keith. That’s why I’m not leaving.” he mumbled, hesitantly placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

He reflexively tensed and shrugged it off, sighing dramatically. “If you loved me you wouldn’t go fucking Lotor.” he replied, scowling even deeper than before. 

“Look, Keith, it was a mistake and I shouldn’t have done it.”

“You’ve been with him for a long enough to be more than a mistake.” Keith retorted, quickly standing to move away from the Cuban boy. 

“I don’t want him, Keith! I want you!” he cried, desperation filling his voice.

“If you wanted me so bad you wouldn’t have done it.” Keith shot back, rubbing his eyes furiously. “You’d give me hell if I did this to you. Even though I wouldn’t, because I’m not a cheating skank.” he muttered, shoving past Lance once again to unplug something from the wall. 

Lance winced, slowly rising to standing. “Where are you supposed to go, Keith? It’s not safe for an omega to roam the streets,” he murmured, barely hiding the desperation that coloured his tone.

“Don’t use my status against me.” Keith snarled, baring his teeth. “I’ll go stay with Shiro or somebody. I don’t need you to look after me. You’ve clearly much more interesting people to be fucking.” 

“Fine, Keith,” he called out, defeated. Fighting Keith right now was hopeless - he knew just how stubborn the small omega was. Maybe he’d come to his senses and speak like an adult about it with time. “You win. I’ll leave you now.” 

“Thank fuck.” Keith sighed, shaking his head. “I’ll be gone in a couple hours.” 

“Yeah.” Lance murmured, dropping his head as he left the room. Before leaving completely, he turned to take a last, long look Keith before closing the door behind him.


	5. For Lorna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Light Kotoumi birthday smut**

“Happy birthday, Umi-chan!” Kotori chimed brightly, giggling excitedly. She threw her arms tightly around the surprised girl before her, resting her head against Umi’s arm. “I didn’t bring your present with me, but I’ll give it you later.” she finished with a wink, another bout of giggles overtaking her. 

“T-Thank you, Kotori…” Umi murmured, face flushed bright red in embarrassment. 

“It’s okay! I want you to have the best birthday ever!” Kotori squealed excitedly, beaming up at her girlfriend. “I already saw Honoka’s gift, and I just know you’ll love it!” 

Umi laughed softly at her girlfriend’s excitement, gently detaching Kotori from her and straightening out her uniform. “I’m sure I will. Honoka usually has good taste.” 

“I’m just so excited!” Kotori squeaked, giggling once again. “Everyone else can’t wait to see you either.” she added, smiling brightly. “Come on! We don’t wanna be late!”

The blue-haired girl allowed Kotori to grasp her wrist and drag her down the corridor, leading them towards the classroom they used as a meeting room. “Kotori, please, if someone sees us we’ll get told off,” Umi pleaded, trying to pull the other girl to a halt. “We’re not supposed to run in the corridors!”

Kotori just giggled, turning to face the other girl. “It’s okay, Umi-chan, we’re almost there now!” she declared, smiling briefly before setting off at a quick jog. She was right - the classroom was just around the corner. Kotori flung the door open, pulling Umi to her side and beaming at the seven girls before them.

“Happy birthday Umi!” came the choral yell from the other girls, colouring the blue-haired girl’s bright red.

“T-Thank you…” Umi mumbled quietly, hiding her flushed face. She heard the sound of Kotori’s laughter from beside her, causing her to look up and elbow the girl in the side. “Don’t laugh!” she whined, feeling her face become even hotter.

“Don’t tease her, Kotori,” Eli laughed, approaching the pair with a bright smile spread across her usual stern face. “I’m sorry we embarrassed you, Umi. We only wanted to wish you a happy birthday.” she explained, her expression becoming apologetic.

“No, i-it’s fine, Eli,” Umi murmured, smiling minutely. “I appreciate the effort...I would just prefer if you didn’t make such a big deal. It’s only my birthday, after all.”

“Birthdays are important!” Honoka chimed, dashing forward to pull Umi into a tight hug. “But we’ll calm down, if it makes you happy.” she promised, pulling away to smile brightly up at the other girl.

They were interrupted by the sound of somebody clearing their throat behind Eli. All four girls turned to see Nico and Nozomi perched on opposite corners of the table, smiling sweetly at them. “When you’ve finished having your domestic moment, we have gifts.” Nico said, her tone sickly sweet. 

“Nico, you don’t have to be so passive-aggressive.” Nozomi chided half-heartedly, stifling a giggle behind her hand. “But she has a point. We don’t have that long before class, and we all want you to see your gifts Umi.”

Umi felt her face begin to heat up again, gently pushing Honoka away to sit at the table. “I-I apologise.” she murmured.

“Don’t be sorry. Just start opening them!” Nico responded, slipping into her usual place at the head of table. The other members all took their places at the table, eight pairs of eyes trained on Umi’s pink face. 

~

Class seemed to fly by - they always seemed to short, in Umi’s opinion. Before she was aware it had happened, the school day had ended and she was slowly walking back to Kotori’s house, the girl skipping slightly behind her.

“Umi-chan, I love you.” she called out, catching up to the blue-haired girl to wrap her arms around her waist. “I hope you had a good birthday so far.”

“I love you too, Kotori. And of course I had a good birthday. You all went to so much effort for me...I truly appreciate it.” Umi replied, a smile involuntarily crawling onto her face. 

“We would’ve made all the effort in the world for you, Umi. I love you, and so does everyone in Muse,” Kotori stated, pausing and smirking deviously before continuing. “But I love you the most.”

Umi laughed, her face flushing red again as Kotori led them to her front door. “I’m home!” she chimed, hanging her bag up by the door and reaching out her hands to take Umi’s from her. “I don’t think my family are home right now, so I guess it’s it’s us.” Kotori murmured, smiling softly. “You wanna go up to my room?”

“O-Of course, Kotori-chan.” Umi replied, twisting a strand of hair around her finger. “Will your parents be home soon, or…?” she murmured, glancing around the hallway anxiously.

“Probably not. They might have gone shopping.” Kotori replied from over her shoulder, already halfway to her room. Umi nodded, quickly following behind the brunette. Kotori was quick to shut the door behind Umi almost the second she entered, pressing the taller girl up against the door. Umi’s breath hitched as Kotori kissed her, hard and fast.

“K-Kotori…” Umi breathed, whining softly as the other girl moved to nip at her neck. “W-What are you doing?” 

“Giving you your birthday present.” Kotori whispered against Umi’s neck, sending a shiver up the blue-haired girl’s spine. She slowly ran a hand up Umi’s side, pushing her uniform jacket off her shoulders and pulling it off completely in one smooth moment. Tossing it to one side quickly, she returned her attention to nipping and sucking at Umi’s neck, only the slightest hesitation in her actions. The other girl had relaxed now, melting into Kotori’s touches and moaning quietly as the brunette skimmed her fingertips up Umi’s sides once more.

“K-Kotori, ah, p-please…” Umi murmured softly, eyes shut tight and face flushed bright pink. 

Kotori giggled, briefly stopping her actions to look up at her girlfriend with wide, innocent eyes. “Yes, Umi-chan?” she asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes. 

“D-Don’t do that!” Umi whined, face flushing even brighter as she turned away from Kotori.

The smaller girl briefly broke character to lean against Umi, resting her head in the spot where her neck and shoulder joined. “You are okay with this, right? You can say if you don’t want it,” she reassured, gently kissing her girlfriend’s jaw. “I won’t be mad.”

“N-No, Kotori, I d-don’t want you to stop,” Umi mumbled, her words uncharacteristically stuttered. 

Kotori immediately resumed her actions, gripping the hem of her school shirt and quickly pulling it over her head and tossing it aside with the jacket. She ran a hand up Umi’s chest, gently squeezing one of the girl’s breasts before locking lips with Umi a second time. 

“K-Kotori...p-please, I-I…” Umi moaned, voice muffled by the brunette’s lips. 

“Y-Yeah, I got you, Umi…” Kotori murmured, voice breathy with excitement as she pulled the taller girl away from the door and shoved her onto the bed. “I’m gonna make this birthday unforgettable,” she promised, before dropping down to attack Umi’s lips once again.


	6. For Anna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Lance basically asking Keith out on their first date. College setting.**

“Yo, Hunk! Wait for me!” Lance yelled, waving his arms frantically to catch the taller male’s attention. Hunk turned, laughing loudly and pausing to let Lance catch up.

“Hey! How was your summer?” he asked, embracing the younger boy in a tight hug.

“Pretty good. Cuba never disappoints. You?” Lance replied, detaching himself from the other to walk alongside him. 

“Eh, pretty standard. I like having no school.” was Hunk’s simple reply, to which Lance let out a laugh. 

“You never fail to make everything sound minimalistic.” Lance said, bumping arms with Hunk jokingly. “Anyway, we have other things to be worrying about.” 

“We do?” Hunk asked, eyes widening in fear. 

“Of course we do! Second years get smaller dorms, so naturally I sent in a request to have us two put together,” Lance explained, grabbing Hunk’s forearm and proceeding to drag him down the corridor. “As much as I’m sure the masses were clamouring for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share a dorm with the one and only Lance McClain, I’m pretty sure we’ll be together.”

Hunk rolled his eyes at Lance’s exaggerated arrogance, resisting the urge to laugh. “Okay, but what if we’re not?” 

“Well, I mean, we are, but in that virtually impossible circumstance I guess you don’t have to help me unpack.”

Hunk laughed this time, shaking his head. “So that’s why I was gonna be so busy, huh?”

“You should be honoured.” Lance replied simply, abruptly halting in front of a large board with various sheets of paper pinned in orderly lines. Drawing away from Hunk, he shoved his way to the front of the small crowd gathered before it, eyes scanning frantically for a name. He was a few moments before he pulled away, his face giving nothing away.

“What’s wrong? Are we not together?” Hunk panicked, grabbing his smaller friend’s shoulders.

“There’s good news and bad news.” Lance replied emotionlessly.

“Good first. Don’t make me start crying in the middle of the corridor.” Hunk begged, biting his lip anxiously.

“We’re together. But there’s three of us in that room,” Lance murmured, sighing dramatically. “And that third person is Keith Kogane.”

“Oh god.” Hunk whispered, wincing slightly at the pain in his lip from biting too hard. “Is there no way to appeal and change rooms? You two will never stop arguing…”

Lance sighed, shaking his head with resignation. “Doubt it. There’s no spare spaces anywhere. This is one of the biggest groups the Garrison has ever accepted.” he mumbled, grabbing his bags and trudging down the corridor. “For the record, he’s the one who starts it.” 

Hunk couldn’t do anything but sigh, before grabbing his own belongings and following his friend to their room. It was going to be a long year.

~

Shiro told Keith which room he was is in practically the second the arrangements were released. He only asked the older man to get this information for him so he could save time on the first day, avoiding unnecessary socialising - although he’d never tell Shiro it was for this reason. The man hadn’t, however, told him who was in the room, but Keith thought little of that.

He had practically unpacked when he heard footsteps in front of his door, and he froze, listening for voices. Whoever was there was silent, until the door was pushed open and a pair entered. The raven-haired boy couldn’t have prepared himself for the boy that did enter, however. At the door stood Lance McClain - his self-proclaimed greatest rival. 

“Before you start, I hate this too.” Lance called out, hands raised above his head in a mock surrender. Keith just rolled his eyes, scowling deeply as he turned back to his suitcase. 

“Whatever, Lance. Just keep yourself away from me and I’ll keep away from you.” he snapped, refusing to meet the boy’s gaze. 

“Okay, okay, jeez Keith.” Lance muttered, gesturing for Hunk to follow him into the room. He threw his bags down on the bed furthest from Keith, glancing back at Hunk before slowly beginning to unpack his things.

All three lapsed into silence for the next hour or so, unpacking and sorting their belongings quickly. Lance finished first, throwing himself back onto his bed with a loud sigh. He saw Keith roll his eyes and felt his own face twist into a frown, turning over to face the wall.

~

The first term passed fairly uneventfully. Keith defended his place at the top of his class fiercely, with Lance hot on his heels. Hunk was in a separate class but held his own throughout the year, staying above average but not at the top like his companions. All three seemed satisfied with their studies, and the arguments between Keith and Lance in the evening were growing less and less frequent as the weeks went on.

It was a rainy mid-afternoon when Lance finished his final class of the day, making his way across campus to return to his dorm. Hunk had left a few hours ago to meet his girlfriend, so the Cuban boy was left to his own devices for the afternoon.

The room was only occupied by Keith when he arrived, to whom he paid little attention. “Hey. You, uh, still take maths, right?” the boy spoke up, forcing Lance to look at him.

“No, why?” Lance returned, a slight frown spreading across his features.

“Uh, no reason.” Keith mumbled, immediately glaring down at his work. Lance felt his frown begin to morph into a smile as he approcjaed the smaller male.

“You need help?” he questioned, unable to stop his laughter at Keith’s violent jerk from the sound of a voice so close behind him.

“No, I…” he faltered, lowering his gaze further. “Yeah. I don’t get these equations, and I’ve been studying them for the past two hours.” Keith confessed.

“Lemme see...I might not have taken maths, but I totally know some stuff.” Lance offered, taking the sheet from Keith and studying it. “Uhh...I think you do...this…” Lance murmured, picking up the boy’s pencil and scribbling down his working. Keith looked over it, face screwed up in concentration. 

“You...you’re right. It’s gotta be, there’s nothing else that would make sense.” Keith murmured, surprise colouring his tone. “T-Thanks, Lance.” 

Lance felt his smile widen as he crouched beside the boy. “It’s no problem, Keith,” he replied, surprised by the warmth in his own voice. “Anytime.”

Keith’s laughter caught him off guard, and the raven-haired boy began to explain after catching sight of Lance’s confused expression. “At the start of this term, we couldn’t even look at each other without finding an insult or something like that.” 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Lance laughed, smiling at Keith. “You’re not annoying as you were last year. I mean, you’re still annoying, but...slightly less annoying.”

“Well, you’re still obnoxious and excessively loud, but I suppose...you’re less annoying too. You don’t make me want to gouge my eyes and ears out whenever I’m around you anymore.” Keith replied, making no attempt to hide the smirk stretching across his face.

“Asshole.” the Cuban boy joked, glancing back down at Keith’s maths work. “How about you leave this for a while and come out with me? Hunk won’t be back until later tonight, so we could always go grab coffee or something.” he offered, looking back up to lock eyes with Keith.

The smaller boy smiled, nodding slowly. “Yeah...sure. I haven’t actually been outside, aside from classes and extra training, since summer.” Keith admitted, flushing nervously. 

“You freak. No wonder you’re so pale.” he laughed, rolling his eyes. “I thought Shiro was exaggerating when he said you never leave the house.”

“I didn’t realise Shiro was gossiping about me to my rivals.” Keith retorted, his tone still playful. “I’ll have to tell him not to speak to you anymore.”

“No, Keith! You can’t!” Lance begged, laughing loudly. 

“I wouldn’t. I’m not that much of an asshole.” Keith responded, slowly getting to his feet and straightening his jacket out. He offered a hand out to Lance and pulled him up, raising an eyebrow. “I hope you have good taste in nights out.” he taunted, smirking.

“Oh, you bet my taste is incredible,” Lance promised, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “I won’t let you down.”


	7. For Joha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Movie night at the castle, with some Klance at the end.**

“Pidge! Sit the fuck down!”

“If this is Mean Girls again I’ll kill you, Lance,” the small girl threatened, throwing herself down dramatically on the sofa between Hunk and Shiro. “I am sick of watching that film.”

“You can never have too much Regina George. Anyway, it’s not Mean Girls, thank you very much. It’s not my night to pick a film.” Lance retorted, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, but we all know you peer pressure Hunk into letting you take his choice.” Pidge pointed out, earning a friendly laugh from Shiro.

“I would never do such a thing!” Lance retorted, faux offensive written all over his face. “I love Hunk far too much to ever do that.”

“I don’t think Hunk would ever choose the Bee Movie.” Shiro pointed out. Hunk laughed nervously, shaking his head at Lance.

“Okay, well, maybe I swayed his decision a little on that one,” Lance admitted, rolling his eyes. “Still, I would never do it all the time.”

“Sure. We believe you.” Keith spoke up, raising an eyebrow. 

“Don’t you start too!” the Cuban boy groaned, pulling Keith close to him and kissing the side of his head. “I came here for a good time and I’m feeling so attacked right now.” 

Keith laughed, snuggling against his boyfriend’s side. “If you think I’m not sleeping through this trash, you’re dead wrong.” he muttered, shutting his eyes.

“You’re so lazy,” Lance murmured, wrapping a tight arm around the small boy. Keith merely grumbled softly, curling up even more.

Pidge gagged from her side of the sofa, resulting in a middle finger from Keith and another eye roll from Lance. “Children, please,” Shiro interjected, stifling a laugh. “Keep it family-friendly.”

“Sorry, Shiro.” Lance laughed, smirking up at his leader. “I’ll try not to fuck Keith right here. I’ll save it for later.” 

“Would both of you shut up about your sex lives? You’re making this even more unbearable.” Pidge groaned, glaring at Lance. The tall boy simply laughed, leaning over to ruffle her hair before pulling Keith back across his chest.

“Let’s just get this over and done with…” Hunk murmured softly, pressing the play button on the remote control. 

“Did you know, I learnt all the entire script of the Bee Movie last month.” Lance called out.

“Please don’t recite it.” Shiro begged, shooting a glare at Keith. “And if he does, you better shut him up.”

Keith shrugged, glancing up at his mentor. “You think it doesn’t piss me off? One time we were having a deep conversation about life and he bursts into the Bee Movie script.” 

The Cuban boy snorted, threading a hand through Keith’s jet-black hair. “You loved it.” he defended, laughing softly.

“I did not. It made me wonder what the fuck I love about you.” Keith retorted, laughing despite his supposed annoyance.

“Oh come on, everyone loves me. Right?” Lance said, glancing across the whole group. Pidge shook her head vehemently as Shiro shruggled. His glance landed on Hunk, who hadn’t moved since Lance had spoken. “Hunk, don’t betray me like this, man.” he half-whispered dramatically, hand clutched over his heart.

“Wha- of course I love you,” Hunk replied, smiling brightly. 

Pidge sighed, shaking her head. “At least you have Hunk to fuel your ego with.” she joked, smirking up at Lance.

“Pidge, we all know you’re a member of the Lance McClain fanclub.” 

“Please tell me you don’t really have a fanclub.” Keith groaned, glancing up at his lover.

“Yeah, it consists of himself and Hunk.” Pidge cut in, earning a disbelieving gasp from Lance himself. Keith laughed, shoving a hand over the boy’s mouth before he could start speaking again. 

“Let’s just get this torture over with, okay?” the raven-haired boy muttered, glancing up at Lance. “You’ve caused us enough pain with your choice of movie, so I think now is your cue to shut the fuck up.” Lance opened his mouth as though to try and speak again, resulting in Keith pushing down on his face even more. “I’m not moving my hand until you promise to shut the fuck up,” he threatened, raising an eyebrow at his lover. Lance hesitated before nodding, some kind of strangled noise accompanying it. “Good.” Keith murmured, removing his hand and shifting to rest his head on Lance’s chest.

“I hate you.” Lance grumbled, kissing the top of Keith’s head. The boy laughed, letting his speaking slide for once. 

~

They made it through the movie with few complaints, except Pidge constantly pointing out plot flaws and animation inconsistencies. It made them laugh most of the time, although towards the end of the film Shiro was sarcastically asking the girl if she ever considered becoming a film critic. 

“See, it’s really not that bad,” Lance murmured to his boyfriend, who had moved to hide half of his face in the boy’s chest.

“Yeah, well, I slept through most of it.” the raven-haired boy mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes. “What time is it?” 

“Almost midnight. Shiro went to find Coran and Allura, Pidge went to bed and I have no idea where Hunk went.” Lance replied, running his fingers through Keith’s hair. 

“Huh. Fair enough.” he mumbled, curling up even more. Lance laughed quietly, continuing to play with Keith’s hair. “What’s so funny?” the boy questioned, glancing up at his lover.

“You. You’re just like a cat.” he murmured, his laughter becoming slightly louder.

“I’m half Galra. They’re a feline species.” Keith replied simply, purring softly with pleasure. “But you don’t have to stop playing with my hair. That’s really good.” he mumbled, letting his eyes slip closed again.

“Keith, I don’t want you to fall asleep again because I’ll just have to wake you up so I can take you upstairs and you’ll get mad at m-“ Lance began, silenced midway through his sentence by Keith.

“We can just sleep here. It’s not like anybody is gonna be in here overnight.” was his response, briefly opening his eyes to train them on his boyfriend’s. 

“I mean, I guess so. But won’t it get cold?” the taller male queried, frowning slightly.

“Nah. The castle keeps itself at a consistent temperature regardless of time. Or at least, that’s what Coran told me.” Keith responded, allowing his eyes to slip closed again. Lance felt a smile crawl across his face, carefully brushing Keith’s long hair out of his face. 

“I love you so much, Keith.” he murmured softly, letting his hands rest on the sides of the boy’s face. Keith hummed quietly, briefly cracking his eyes open to smile up at Lance.

“I love you even more than you know.”


	8. For Ray

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Post failed heist Jerevin.**

It was rare for a heist to go wrong, Jeremy had learnt pretty quickly, despite this only being his second heist since he’d join the Fake AH Crew. He could sense the waves of disappointment and discomfort coming off the blond male sat beside him, who was uncharacteristically silent. 

“Are you mad at us, Geoff?” Michael spoke up, catching his bottom lip between his teeth.

“No...I’m not mad.” the older male sighed, rubbing his temples. “Nobody could’ve predicted the police showing up so fast.” 

“Ray could’ve.” muttered Ryan, his voice hardly audible. It stung Jeremy, even though he knew that wasn’t the man’s intention. 

“I don’t care. He wasn’t here.” Geoff shot back, receiving a hard glare from Ryan.

“Regardless of who was here and who wasn’t, we failed and that’s that. It’s more important that we get back and check everyone’s injuries.” Jack interjected, glancing at Geoff as though waiting for him to challenge her. He remained silent, however, and once again the group fell into dead silence.

Jeremy slipped his hand into Gavin’s, squeezing it comfortingly, and he caught the brief smile that flickered across the taller male’s face. “It’ll be okay, Gav.” he whispered, resting his head against Gavin’s forearm. 

“I know,” the blond returned, a soft sigh escaping. “I’m just angry at myself. I could’ve done better, and I know it.” 

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You do good at what you do best.” Jeremy comforted. “Nobody expects you to be at the forefront of a firefight. That’s what Michael and Ryan are for. Nobody can negotiate a deal the way you can.” 

“Mm, I suppose.” the man considered, turning to face Jeremy. “I just wish I could do more for the team.”

“Gavin, your spot on this team is irreplaceable. Without you, half of the things we do would never get done.” Geoff added, turning around to meet Gavin’s eyes. “Being good in combat is one thing, but we need people to get us our deals in the first place.” 

Jeremy nodded in agreement, squeezing his boyfriend’s hand again. “We love you, Gav, and I do especially.” 

~

It didn’t take long to fix up everyone’s injuries, which left a lot of the team to their own devices for several hours before Geoff’s debrief. Gavin had retreated to his room, shortly followed by Jeremy. 

“Are you trying to avoid everyone?” Jeremy asked, receiving a frown from the blond.

“No. I just don’t want to invade on anyone right now. You haven’t been here long enough to know, but people take failed heists hard. Usually they’re a lot worse than this, and I think we’re just taking in the shock.” he murmured. “We don’t fail very often.” 

“You guys aren’t used to failure.” Jeremy mused, sighing softly. He crawled up the bed towards Gavin, sitting cross-legged before him. “I wish I could say the same. Before I joined you guys, I was hopeless.”

Gavin laughed, nodding. “Geoff was worried about you at first. But once you got confident, he never looked back again.” 

“He thought I wasn’t suitable?” Jeremy asked, eyes wide.

“At first. But when you aren’t confident, you’re less likely to perform to your best ability.” he replied, taking one of Jeremy’s hands. “Don’t think he still isn’t sure though. You’ve improved so much since you gained your confidence around us.” 

The shorter male felt his face heat up, a smile creeping across his face. “I’m glad to be here.” he replied warmly.

“You know we’re all happy to have you here too, Jeremy,” Gavin smiled, leaning back against the headrest. “Maybe Ryan is still adjusting, but he took ages to even speak to half of us, so you’re doing better than we did!” 

“I’m sure you irritated the life out of him on your first day.” Jeremy laughed. “He is pretty scary, though. When I first met you guys I could’ve sworn he was gonna tear me to pieces. I thought it was all a trick and you guys were actually out to kill me.”

“Trust me, I would’ve killed you a long time before that if we wanted you dead.” Gavin replied, seriousness settling in. “I don’t mess around when it comes to business.”

“I can tell. That’s why I was so surprised I was still alive when I found out who you were.”

“I’m still upset you didn’t recognise me on sight.” the blond man pouted, frowning playfully. “I thought I was a little more well-known than that.”

“Look, I was so clueless back then. Burnie could’ve held a gun to my head and I wouldn’t have clocked it as the biggest crime boss going.” Jeremy argued, smiling weakly. “Like I said, I was totally hopeless.”

“That’s what made you so appealing.” Gavin mused, playing with the hem of his sleeve. “You were talented, and yet so unaware of the world around you. Most people pull a gun if they meet me and I start talking, but you didn’t. It was unusual. You intrigued me, and now look where we are.”

“I can’t say I regret it.”

“Neither do I, love. It couldn’t have worked out better for me.”

Jeremy laughed, “I’ll second that. I’d probably be dead by now if you hadn’t stuck your oversized nose into my business.”

“Oi, stop insulting my nose!” the man squawked, clapping a hand over his nose with a frown. “It’s not even that big.”

“I’m getting you a nose job for your birthday.” Jeremy joked, laughing at the noise of anguish that Gavin let out. “Thought you’d approve.” 

“I hate you.”

“I love you too, Gav.” 

“Jokes aside, I’m so glad you’re not badly hurt, love.” he murmured, leaning forward and kissing the side of Jeremy’s neck. “I don’t know what I’d do without you now.”

“It’s you who dragged me into all of this.”

Gavin simply laughed, looking up and locking eyes with his boyfriend. He shifted to position himself in the shorter man’s lap. “You don’t regret it though, do you? You should be singing my praises right now.” 

“I doubt I’ll be doing that any time soon.” Jeremy laughed, shaking his head at the man. 

Gavin pouted dramatically, shaking his head. “You don’t know what’s good for you.” he muttered. 

“I’m wounded.” Jeremy deadpanned, tilting the man’s head up and pressing a kiss to his lips. “I’ll tolerate it from you, though.”

“Of course you will. You love me too much.” Gavin replied confidently, laughing softly at Jeremy’s expression of disbelief.

“In all my life, I’ve never met anyone as cocky as you, Gavin Free.” Jeremy muttered, shaking his head. 

“You love it though.” he teased, playfully punching Jeremy’s arm. 

“Hmm, debatable. I think my affection only feeds your ego more.” Jeremy taunted, laughing at the expression of faux offence on Gavin’s face.

“Ego? Me? I don’t know _what_ you could be talking about, love.” the blond replied, flinging his hand across his forehead dramatically. “I’ve never been more offended by your cruel words, Jeremy.” 

“Cry me a river,” Jeremy replied, laughing. “The day you’re humble is the day I die for good.” 

“Guess I’ll have to keep it up just in case.” was the simple response from Gavin.

Jeremy shook his head, looking back up at his boyfriend and sighing. “You’re impossible, Gav.” 

Gavin simply laughed, looking up at Jeremy with adoration clear in his eyes. “I might be. It’s all part of my delightful charm.” he insisted, batting his eyelashes.

“Delightful? You’re delusional.”

“Please. I know I’m everyone’s favourite person.” 

“Maybe not everyone’s. But you’re definitely mine, even though I question that choice every day.” 

“You’re such a bully, Jeremy. I hate you.”

“Love you too, babe.”


	9. For Chloe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Lance comes to help Keith relax.**

“Keith?”

Lance got no response from the raven-haired boy, which probably would’ve angered him if he didn’t know Keith well. 

“Keith!” he yelled, finally garnering some kind of reaction from the smaller male.

“Yes?” Keith yelled back, voice filled with frustration and hardly restrained anger. “Can’t you see I’m busy, Lance?”

“Yeah, you might be, but you need to stop,” Lance warned, slowly approaching the other boy. “Shiro says you’ve been her since 6am.”

“Yeah? And?” Keith hissed, tilting his head to one side. 

“It’s 3:30pm. You’ve been training for _nine hours_ , Keith. That’s unreal!”

“I took a few breaks.” Keith defended, narrowing his eyes. “I’m fine.”

Lance shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You’re still beating yourself up over our last mission, aren’t you?” Lance guessed, not missing the flash of guilt that passed Keith’s face.

“No.”

“Yes.” Lance sighed, shaking his head at the smaller boy. “Keith, it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault.” 

“It was preventable.” 

“Not really. We had no idea the Galra caught onto us so fast.” 

Keith sighed, clenching his fists in frustration. “I could’ve done _more_ , Lance!”

“You did everything you could, Keith. Nobody blames you any more than we blame ourselves.” Lance murmured, reaching out and taking one of Keith’s hands. He rubbed his thumb against the back of it in an attempt to comfort Keith, meeting his eyes with a sympathetic gaze. “Allura says we can go back soon and try to help the people on that planet out a little.”

Keith sighed, leaning against Lance. “I know. I just...I wish I hadn’t fucked up first time around.” 

Lance ran his hand through Keith’s thick, jet-black hair comfortingly, holding the boy close to his chest. “I know you do, Keith. Sometimes stuff like this is unavoidable. All we can do now is try and help them as much as possible.”

Keith nodded, hiding his face in the crook of his boyfriend’s neck. “I love you, Lance.” he murmured, voice muffled slightly. 

“I love you too, Keith.” Lance smiled, gently pulling away to lock eyes with the boy. “Please take a break, just for today?” he begged.

“Fine.” Keith said, shaking his head. “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this. I’m a fool for you, Lance.”

“I know you are. But you really do need to stop.” Lance replied, nodding to the ankle support he wore. “You don’t wanna make that worse and end up not being able to train at all, do you?”

“That won’t stop me.”

“No, but Shiro will.” Lance retorted, shaking his head. “Even with all the stubbornness in the world, Shiro would not let you fight if you had a severe injury.” 

“Shiro can fight me himself.” Keith stated, throwing his jacket back over his shoulders and grabbing the bottle of water he’d dumped at one side of the room. 

“I wouldn’t recommend fighting Shiro.” Lance murmured, gently kissing Keith’s cheek. “As much as I have every faith you could beat him.”

“I’m not gonna.” Keith replied, slipping his hand into Lance’s. “I just...I don’t know. I don’t like sitting still when I can be doing things.” he admitted, refusing to meet Lance’s eyes.

“It’s okay, Keith, I understand. You like to be doing stuff all the time,” he turned to face Keith, smiling softly. “But you need to take breaks sometimes. You’ll wear yourself out.”

Keith sighed, nodding slowly. “You’re right, Lance, and I know that, but-“

“Don’t make excuses. Just come with me and relax for the rest of the day, yeah? We don’t have to do anything but chill. No thinking about Voltron and defending the universe or anything like that.” Lance offered, his voice filled with hope.

“Yeah. That sounds...nice, actually.” Keith murmured, leaning against Lance.

“Good. I mean, even if you refused, I woulda dragged you to my room anyway, so you never really had a choice.” 

“Well, you would’ve tried to. That’s why I made it easy for you.” Keith laughed quietly, a shy smile creeping across his features.

Lance grabbed Keith’s hand and made a beeline for his room, smiling over his shoulder. “You underestimate my strength, Keith!” he called out, his smile growing at the sound of Keith’s laughter.

~

It was almost midnight when Keith felt himself jolt awake, relaxing almost immediately when he felt the warmth of Lance wrapped around him. “Mmm, Lance.” he murmured sleepily, feeling Lance lean down and press a kiss to the top of his head.

“Yeah, baby?” Lance replied softly, fixing his eyes on Keith’s violet ones. “You okay?”

“How long was I out?”

“Uhh...not long. I think you dozed off about an hour ago.” Lance guessed, gently rubbing circles into Keith’s upper arm.

Keith nodded slowly, eyes flickering shut again. “Nnh, I’m not gonna sleep properly now.” the boy whined, shifting slightly to get more comfortable.

“Sorry, baby. I didn’t wanna wake you up though. It’s not like you sleep a lot as it is.” Lance pointed out, resting his cheek on the top of the boy’s hand. Keith made a soft whining noise as he nudged Lance’s head off.

“I get enough sleep.” he protested half-heartedly, voice fading into a yawn. 

“Not really.” Lance murmured, unwilling to argue properly. “It doesn’t matter anyway. So long as you actually sleep, that’s all that matters right now.”

“You worry too much.”

“No, I care too much. I don’t want you getting hurt or hurting yourself, Keith. You’re pretty good at doing both.”

“I don’t mean to. It just...happens.”

“I know. But at least I can look after you.” Lance murmured, pressing another kiss to the top of Keith’s head again. “Try and go back to sleep, baby. You could do with as much as you can possibly get.”

Keith didn’t protest; he simply shifted into a more comfortable position with his head laid on Lance’s chest before letting his eyes slip shut. Lance watched the boy with a small smile, reassuringly running his fingers through Keith’s hair.

“I love you.”


	10. For Pinn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Aro!Keith coming out to Shiro.**

Keith doubted Shiro would be awake at this time. It was late, and Shiro’s studious nature probably meant he had a strong sleeping schedule. Keith had considered waiting until the following day to speak to him, but he figured Shiro would be too busy and he might as well try now - just in case. Maybe Matt had kept him up with last-minute homework.

Reaching up, he tapped quietly on the steel door marked with a bright yellow ‘06’. He held his breath for a few moments, and almost turned away at the lack of response. Just as he was about to leave, however, he heard the voice of a man call out, “Who is it?”

“Keith.” the boy returned, biting his lip. 

There was another pause before he heard Shiro approaching the door, and after a few moments it was swung open. “Keith? Are you okay?” Shiro asked, voice full of concern.

“Y-Yeah, I’m okay. I just...need to talk to you.” Keith mumbled, eyes fixed on the floor.

“Of course, Keith. Come in.” he replied, standing aside and gesturing for Keith to enter. The boy did so, smiling weakly up at his mentor. Shiro closed the door behind him and lead the smaller male to the sofa, sitting himself down on one side. “What’s bothering you?”

“I-Is Matt here?”

“Nope. He has extra training on Mondays. He probably won’t be back for another couple of hours.” Shiro confirmed, a slight frown creasing his features. “It must be important if you don’t want Matt hearing it either.”

“N-No, it’s nothing bad - I don’t think, anyway - I just- I just wanted to only tell you.” Keith stammered, feeling his face burn up.

Shiro nodded understandingly, gently placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Of course. It’s okay, Keith, take your time. Tell me whatever you need to.”

Keith paused, taking a deep breath before looking up and meeting his mentor’s eyes. “You promise you won’t tell anyone?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Keith. If you don’t want me to tell anyone, I’ll respect that.” Shiro promised.

“Okay…” Keith mumbled, biting his lip. “W-Well...I was talking with Hunk earlier, and, well, he was asking me if I’d ever dated anyone before.” Keith began, eyes fixed on the floor once again. “I said no, because I haven’t, and he seemed kinda surprised, so I told him I wasn’t really interested in that kind of thing. Like, at all.”

Shiro nodded, a slight frown crossing his features. “That’s okay though, Keith. Not everyone feels ready for a relationship straight away. You don’t have to get into any relationships until you feel ready for it.”

“No, Shiro, you don’t understand. I _really_ don’t care about dating. I could have a relationship if I wanted to, but I’m just...not into that kind of thing. I don’t really want to date anyone at all, ever.” Keith explained, sighing softly. “I know you probably just think I’m too young and inexperienced, and one day I’ll find someone, but I’m pretty sure I don’t _want_ to find someone. Not romantically, anyway.”

“I understand,” Shiro murmured, gently grasping Keith’s chin and tilting it upwards to look at him. “It’s okay if you feel that way. I don’t think any less of you for it, and I’m sure nobody else does either.”

“Hunk thought it was weird…” Keith murmured, biting his lip again. “And then I thought maybe there’s something wrong with me, because most people want a relationship at some point in their lives, but that idea just doesn’t seem nice to me, and…” he trailed off, meeting the eyes of his mentor with worry.

“Ssh, Keith, it’s okay. I’ll admit that most people do get into a romantic relationship of some kind, but not everybody does and nobody has to. Hunk was probably just surprised. It’s unusual, I suppose. People are probably so used to dating that it’s the norm nowadays.” Shiro comforted, shifting to move closer to Keith. “But just because it’s the norm doesn’t mean you have to be a part of it. The word you’re looking for is aromantic, I believe. It’s where people aren’t interested in any kind of romantic relationship and feel no romantic attraction to anyone else.” 

Keith nodded slowly, catching his bottom lip between his teeth again. “And that’s okay?”

“Of course it is. You can be whatever you want, and identify as whatever you please. You’re still Keith. I promise to think no less of you regardless. You’re like a brother to me.” Shiro murmured, pulling the smaller boy into his chest. “I love you so much. I just want to see you happy.”

“I-I am happy.” Keith mumbled, voice muffled against Shiro’s chest. “I just...wanted to tell you. To make sure it’s okay, and so you knew…” he admitted.

“I’m glad you feel as though you can trust me with things like this.” Shiro murmured, smiling softly. “You can always talk to me about anything. I promise.” 

“Thanks.” the smaller male murmured quietly, 

“It’s my pleasure, Keith.”


	11. For Mullet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Post-Voltron Shance fluff.**

It had been a strange few weeks since returning to the Garrison. None of the five paladins could quite believe Zarkon was finally dead and the universe was free from the terrors of the Galra Empire. Allura and Coran had settled on a small planet, only inhabited by a small, friendly alien species, whilst the remaining six members of their team returned to their home planet. 

Despite all the time they had spent in space, the group decided to return to Earth after all, and to rejoin the Garrison. It hadn’t taken long for them to all be accepted a second - with the new title of “Universe Defender”, they were practically begging for the six to come back. 

Settling back in had been more difficult than the group had expected at first, however. Being on Earth seemed foreign in the beginning, after so long being in space. One of the weirdest adjustments was having real food again. Everything tasted so strongly after having nothing but substitutes and replications for so long - Hunk was particularly delighted to be able to cook normal, human food once again. 

Lance found it especially difficult to adjust to being back at the Garrison. Being away for so long had made a lot of what happened at the Garrison seem like a distant memory, especially when the most exciting thing they did there was training drills. The pressure now was even stronger due to the reappearance of Keith into his class, instantly reclaiming his top spot. He knew better than to tried and beat the stubborn Red Paladin, however; their time in space had only honed Keith’s skills and made him an even stronger pilot than before. All Lance wanted now was to pass his class and get out, maybe one day stealing the top spot from Keith if he was lucky. 

“Lance? You busy?” a familiar voice broke him out of his thoughts, causing him to look up from the textbook he was briefly glancing over. 

“Not really.” Lance replied, pushing the book aside. “What’s up, Shiro?” 

The taller male laughed softly, sitting down across from Lance. “You didn’t really look like you were actually reading anything.” he murmured, running a hand through his hair.

“Was I that unconvincing?” Lance joked, resting his chin on his hands. 

“I can’t say I was sold.” Shiro confessed, taking one of the Cuban boy’s hands. “Are you doing okay? You’ve been surprisingly quiet for the last few days.”

“Just settling back in. It’s...weird, being back on Earth.”

“Yeah. I’ve missed it, but I can’t help but wish I was still in space.” Shiro admitted, sighing softly. 

“How’s therapy going?” Lance asked cautiously, watching the subtle change in his boyfriend’s expression. “It’s okay if you don’t wanna talk about it.”

“No, no, it’s okay. It’s going well. They’re supposed to be prescribing some medication in the next few weeks anyway.” the man murmured, shaking his head. “It’s good for me.” 

“Yeah. I know it’s hard for you, Shiro, but it’s for the best.” Lance murmured, taking one of his boyfriend’s hands and rubbing his thumbs in circles into the back of it. “You’ll be okay, baby.”

“I hope so.” Shiro mumbled, the nervousness creeping back into his tone. “I just hope it makes me...better, I suppose.” 

“You know I’ll help you no matter what happens, baby.” Lance promised, smiling encouragingly at the male. 

“Yeah. I trust you will, Lance. You’re not one to leave a job half done.” Shiro laughed quietly, a soft laugh escaping.

“I love you, Shiro. You’re the last person I wanna see suffer.” Lance murmured. “You’ve done so much for all of us, and been through so much...you deserve someone to help you through the recovery.”

Shiro smiled sadly, eyes fixed on Lance’s. “I appreciate your help more than you know, Lance. I doubt I’d be doing so well without you around.”

“I’m glad I can help you in any way, babe. You deserve the world.”

“You’re too kind.”

“You basically saved the universe. And lead the team who did it. Don’t try to play it down.” 

“I suppose I did.” Shiro murmured, a smile flickering across his features once more. “It’s strange to think about it like that. I don’t _feel_ like a hero, but I guess what I - no, we - did is pretty heroic.” 

“Yeah. I’m proud of all of us. Especially you, Shiro. You did lead us, after all.” Lance stated, leaning over the table to kiss his boyfriend.

“I suppose.” Shiro flushed, shaking his head. “You four all offered a lot to the team, though. All of you have individual strengths and talents that made up Voltron. I may have been the leader, but I needed all of you to make us such a strong team.”

Lance smiled proudly, puffing his chest out. “I gotta make my family proud somehow.”

“Well, I can’t say you didn’t succeed in that.” 

“Yeah. They’ve never been so proud, even if they were angry at me for disappearing for years and not telling them there I went.” Lance replied bashfully, flushing pink. “I wish I coulda told them I was okay. My ma thought I was dead…”

“At least you’re back now though, and all in one piece.” Shiro mused.

“Yeah. I’m glad to be back.” Lance murmured, frowning slightly. “I miss Coran and Allura though. It’s weird not being around them all the time.”

“I agree.” Shiro nodded, “You get used to being with people, and then when they’re gone it seems strange to not see them all the time. They promised to visit, though, and I’m sure they’ll keep to their word.” 

“I hope so. It’d be sad if we never saw either of them again.” 

“I know Allura will probably beg Coran to come as soon as possible.” Shiro said. “She was so sad to see us go.”

“Yeah. I miss her a lot, y’know. She’s great to talk to.”

“I know. Allura is one of the nicest people I think I’ve ever met.” Shiro admitted. “I know she had tensions with Keith at times, but they were resolved eventually. Keith isn’t mad at her anymore.” 

“It’s a good job they worked it out. Those two ignoring each other kinda weakened the team.” Lance pointed out. 

“Mm.” Shiro hummed thoughtfully, falling silent for a few moments. He met eyes with Lance once again, the smile returning to his face once again. “Anyway! I think you should get on with some work, Lance. I’ve heard you’re slipping down the class leaderboard.” he chided, raising an eyebrow. “I came to help you study. I know you have a test coming up, and I want you to do well.” 

“Yeah, I know, I’m trying my hardest, okay? It’s weird piloting anything that isn’t Blue, and I’m still not really back into the mindset of being in a school.” 

“I know, Lance, and I understand. You’ll do fine in this test, I’m sure, but a little extra revision never hurt anybody.” Shiro bargained, grabbing Lance’s textbook and flipping through the chapter his boyfriend had been pretending to read through. “Okay, you’ve done this in class, right? So I can test you on it?” 

Lance groaned and nodded, rolling his eyes. “I wish you didn’t do this to me, Shiro. As much as I love you, you’re such a square.”

Shiro laughed again, shaking his head. “You’re so dramatic. Now get yourself a pen and some paper before I start teaching you a chapter you haven’t even read yet.”


	12. For Jaye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Christmas preparations - Lance and self-insert**

Coming from a big family, Lance was used to Christmas being the most hectic time of the year. His extended family would all find some time to drop in and wish them well, and most years appearing again on Christmas Day. Quiet wasn’t something Lance had ever associated with Christmas - it had always been the busiest time of the year for him. He was always heavily involved with preparations, being one of the older children still living at home. 

So the first year away from all the noise and excitement at his home was strange, to say the least. It was weird to have nobody dropping in on an almost daily basis, nobody shopping for ridiculous amounts of food to feed a small army, nobody dashing around with armfuls of decorations. It was quite peaceful, and although Lance missed the liveliness of his home, he couldn’t say he disliked the quiet.

The preparations for Christmas were basically done; it was a much shorter process thanks to the smaller number of people to prepare for. Decorating the house didn’t take several hours, and there was so much less food to cook come Christmas day. Lance had finished wrapping various gifts a few days ago, taking the ones to be sent to his family and friends overseas to the post office. Now the only thing left was the waiting, really.

“Lance? What are you doing?” chimed the cheerful voice of his girlfriend. He looked up to see her, smiling brightly.

“Thinking.” he responded simply, patting the spot next to him for her to sit down.

“About what?” Jaye murmured, sitting down beside the taller boy and resting her head on Lance’s shoulder.

“Nothing major. Just my family. It’s weird for it to be so quiet at Christmas.” he replied, draping an arm over the girl’s shoulders. “I’m not used to it being so peaceful.”

“Oh. You’re not unhappy, right?” Jaye asked, concern clear in her tone.

Lance shook his head, smiling reassuringly. “Of course not. As much as it’s unusual for me, I’m not unhappy. It’s nice to celebrate Christmas differently for once.”

“If you’re sure…” she murmured, the concern still not leaving her voice.

“I promise.” he smiled, gently pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Anyway, we're seeing them in the New Year. It’s not like I don’t get to celebrate with them at all.” 

“Yeah. It’ll be nice to see them again.” Jaye mused, returning Lance’s smile.

“It’s been a long time. My ma is always asking when we can come see them again. She thinks you’re great.” he said fondly. “When I told her we wanted to come for New Year she was over the moon.”

“You guys really love to celebrate.”

“Well, we are from Havana. And everyone in Havana knows how to party.” Lance replied proudly, the bright smile returning to his face. “Plus we have so many people in my family that celebrations are the best time for us to see each other. Meeting up during the year is difficult at best. If we didn’t have massive parties every year, I’d probably only see a lot of my relatives on their birthdays if I’m lucky.” he explained. “I love having a big family, but it’s not easy to visit everyone.”

“That makes sense.” Jaye murmured, a soft sigh escaping. “We could’ve gone to Cuba for Christmas if it would’ve made you happy.”

“No way. I wanted to spend it with you, and only you, Jaye. Christmas with family is great, but I’ve been doing that all my life. This is my first chance to spend Christmas with you, and that’s exactly what I wanna do.” Lance declared, tilting Jaye’s head up to look into her chocolatey brown eyes. “You mean the world to me, Jaye. I wouldn’t be happier anywhere else right now. I love you.” 

“I-I love you too, Lance.” Jaye stammered, feeling her face heat up as he loosened his grip.

“You know, I think I should count myself lucky I’m not going back to Cuba for Christmas.” Lance commented, laughing quietly. “It’s not Christmas if we don’t have one dramatic outburst from at least one of my sisters and several arguments over whether or not Aunt Maria is cheating at all the board games.”

“It sounds wild.” Jaye laughed, looking up at Lance. “You have to take me at least once.” 

“I don’t think you’d actually enjoy it that much. I know you’re comfortable around some of my family, but there’s a lot of people there, and they get pretty loud. I don’t wanna overwhelm you.” he murmured, his own voice filled with concern. “I’d be more than happy to take you if you’re sure you can manage it, though.”

“If you’re there, I’m sure I’ll be fine.” she stated, giving Lance a warm smile. “I don’t have to be around them all the time, anyway.”

“That’s true. Maybe next year, huh?” he smirked, leaning down to trail kisses down the side of Jaye’s neck. “Either way, I’ll be happy if you’re with me.”

“The same goes for you.” Jaye murmured, wrapping her arms tightly around Lance’s waist. 

The pair sat there in silence for a few moments, quietly enjoying each other’s company with no need to exchange words.

It was Lance who broke the silence eventually, turning to meet eyes with Jaye. “I’m so lucky to have someone like you in my life. I couldn’t ask for anyone better.” he smiled, leaning to kiss her softly. “I love you. So much.” 

“I-I love you too, Lance.” she mumbled, face heating up. “You’re too nice to me.”

“You deserve it.” he replied, causing Jaye to squeak embarrassedly, burying her face into Lance’s chest. The Cuban boy laughed affectionately, playing with her hair. 

“S-Shut up!” she squeaked, voice slightly muffled. Lance laughed affectionately and shook his head. 

“Nah. You’re cute when you embarrassed.”

“You’re making it worse!”

“That’s my job.” Lance winked, gently prying Jaye from his chest and tilting her chin up, planting a kiss on her lips before placing her head back on his chest. 

“You’re the worst, Lance.”

“You know it.”


	13. For Nico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Klance snowball fight.**

“I’m never speaking to you again, asshole!” Keith yelled over his shoulder, hearing the hysterical laughter of his boyfriend despite how hard he tried to ignore it. 

“Aw, c’mon, Keith! It was only a bit of fun.” Lance begged, running up and wrapping his arms around the smaller boy from behind. “You’re not seriously mad at me on Christmas Eve, are you?”

“Yes.” Keith snapped, frowning deeply. He relented after a few moments, relaxing into his boyfriend’s arms with a sigh. “No. I can’t stay mad at you.” 

“You used to.” Lance teased, earning himself a swift punch to the stomach. “Hey!”

“You’re so rude to me.” Keith pouted, rolling his eyes.“This is why I should’ve spent Christmas with Shiro.”

“I’m heartbroken.” Lance joked, catching up to Keith again and linking his arm through the smaller male’s. “You would never really leave me.” 

“No, because I love you, even if you bully me with snow.” 

The Cuban boy laughed again, kicking up a pile of snow in front of the pair. “You love the snow really. I can tell.”

“Not when it’s being shoved down my back I don’t.” Keith shot back, frowning at the ground. “I don’t really like the snow in the first place. It’s cold and useless.” 

“You’re such a Scrooge, Keith.” Lance lamented, shaking his head in dismay.

“I never said I didn’t like Christmas. I said I didn’t like snow.” Keith replied, smirking slightly. “You know I love Christmas, because it means I can give you stupid presents.” 

“You never fail to do so,” Lance sighed, despite the laugh he let out. “I just like spending time with you. Christmas or otherwise.” 

Keith felt a smile creep across his face, leaning ever so lightly against Lance’s arm. “Shut up, Lance. I currently have icy water dripping down my back, and I am not in the mood to get sentimental.” the boy growled, although there was no real venom in his words.

“Yeah, well, when we get back, I’ll make hot chocolate and you can go change. Then you won’t be freezing anymore.” Lance bargained, his expression becoming hopeful. “And you won’t be mad at me for shoving a snowball down your coat, right?”

Keith couldn’t help but laugh at Lance’s antics, shaking his head disbelievingly. “Sure, Lance. Solve all your life problems with hot chocolate.” he replied sarcastically. 

Lance laughed, leaning in to trail kisses up Keith’s neck. “It’s the only way I know, mi amor.” 

“Shut up.” Keith huffed, pulling away from Lance and speeding up slightly.

“You’re so rude. Shiro wasn’t lying about you.” Lance taunted, laughing when Keith whipped his head around to glare at him.

“I didn’t realise you and Shiro were ganging up on me now.” Keith shot back, although the coldness in his voice held no depth. “Betrayed by my closest. How tragic.”

Lance laughed again, catching up to Keith once again and wrapping his arms tightly around him. “I mean, you are pretty rude. But we both love you, even though neither of us actually know why.”

“And you’re calling me rude?” Keith questioned incredulously, rolling his eyes at the taller boy. “I wonder why I put up with you sometimes.”

“Because I’m great?” Lance suggested, earning another eye roll from Keith. “You can’t deny it, babe. I am pretty great.”

“I know. I wouldn’t want to fracture your fragile ego so easily.” 

“At this rate I’m gonna have to call Hunk and ask him if I can stay with him for Christmas.” Lance joked, falling into stride alongside Keith. “You’re gonna kick me out into the snow.”

“I wouldn’t mind that. It’d definitely be a lot quieter.” Keith mused, narrowing his eyes mischievously. “I’m sure Hunk can take you…”

“I take it back. You’re not rude. You’re _evil_.” Lance whined, pouting at the raven-haired boy. “Christmas is a time for charity, Keith, not unnecessary cruelty.”

“I never do anything unnecessarily, Lance.” Keith reminded, although the soft laughter gave away his cold facade. “No, I don’t really feel like spending Christmas alone again.”

“You were alone for too long, Keith.” Lance murmured. “If I hadn’t have hated you at the time, I would’ve totally invited you to Hunk’s famous Christmas dinner on a broke college student’s budget. It was the highlight of our year.”

“I’m sure it was.” Keith laughed, raising an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure Hunk could’ve made it taste half decent.” 

“Trust me, Hunk can make _anything_ taste half decent. Why do you think I roomed with him every year?”

“So you’re not even really friends?” Keith smirked. “How cruel. Using Hunk for his cooking abilities.”

“You know it’s not like that. I love Hunk - it just so happens he’s basically a pro chef.” Lance replied, shaking his head at Keith. “It’s useful having a friend like Hunk when you’re shit at cooking yourself.” 

“You’re not that bad at cooking, Lance. I’ve never gotten food poisoning from anything you’ve made.” Keith pointed out, to which Lance offered a soft smile. 

“Yeah, I guess, but I’m no Hunk. I can just about get by.” 

“I hope you realise you’re doing the cooking tomorrow.”

“Keith, I would’ve begged you to let me cook. You don’t know the difference between a frying pan and a stew pot. You’re the last person I trust in the kitchen.” Lance assured, eyes wide with faux horror. “We’d end up staying at Hunk’s because you burnt the kitchen down if I left the cooking to you.” 

Keith laughed embarrassedly, face flushing red. “I-I’m not that bad…”

“I know you hate admitting you’re not amazing at everything, but we both know your cooking is probably the worst out of all of us.” the Cuban boy replied, smiling fondly at his boyfriend. “But it’s okay. You don’t have to be amazing at everything. It’s not like you’re amazing at snowball fights.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“It’s always a challenge with you, baby.” 

Keith didn’t even wait for Lance to finish before he’d dashed off to find as much snow as he possibly could. The Cuban boy almost laughed, but his laughter was cut off by a pile of snow landing straight in the middle of his face. With a strangled squeak, he stumbled backwards and brushed the snow out of his face. Once he’d regained his vision, he caught sight of Keith, hands filled with snow and laughing triumphantly. 

“Oh, this is war!” Lance yelled, bending down to scoop up another handful of snow. Keith simply laughed, and Lance smiled to himself at the rare sound of Keith’s genuine laughter.

“You’re not gonna beat me this time.” Keith challenged, to which Lance raised an eyebrow.

“I won’t go down without a fight.”


	14. For Ari

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Matt and Pidge school au, beginning with Pidge’s first day at high school and ending with her graduation awards.**

Matt hated the first day of school for so many reasons. For starters, it meant the holidays were over, and he had to go back to school in the first place. It was boring and too long and Matt hated it. There was nothing very fun about school.

This year would be slightly different, though, as his younger sister was finally starting at his school. Matt only had two years left before he could apply for the Garrison and escape the hellhole of his high school, but having Katie around would make it slightly more bearable. She’d be able to relate to his problems with teachers and the unrealistic amount of homework they were both set on an almost daily basis.

“Matt? Hurry up, we’re gonna be late.” Katie’s anxious voice called, snapping Matt back into reality. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming. Don’t sound so worried, sis! You’re new; they won’t care if you’re a bit late.” Matt reassured, jumping down the last three stairs to stand beside his sister.

“First impressions are important.” Katie muttered, rolling her eyes as she walked towards the door.

“They’ll love you anyway. You’re the ideal student, Katie.” Matt murmured, shutting the door behind them and locking it. “You probably won’t get into any trouble the whole time you’re there.”

“I doubt that. Everyone slips up at some point.” Katie returned, sighing slightly. “I don’t think anyone can make it through without getting into some form of trouble.”

Matt frowned, taking in the downcast demeanour of his younger sister. “Katie, is something bothering you? Other than the holidays being over and having to go back to school, which is immensely depressing.” 

Katie looked up in surprise, slowly shaking her head. “Not really. I guess I’m just...worried.” she mumbled, fixing her eyes on the floor.

“Worried about what?” Matt asked softly, his frown becoming more prominent.

“Well...I don’t know the school very well, and I don’t know any of the people...I guess I’m worried I won’t like it.” Katie confessed, still refusing to take her eyes off the ground. “You seem to have a great time, and I’m worried I won’t.” 

“Katie, you’ll meet people. A lot of people in your year group won’t know anyone else.” Matt reasoned, gently placing an arm over his sister's shoulders for reassurance. “You’ll get talking to people in class and stuff. And you’ll find your way around the school faster than you think. It looks massive, but you get used to it.” 

“What if they don’t like me?” Katie whimpered, tears threatening to spill over.

“Then they’re stupid. Anyone would be so lucky to have a friend like you, Katie.” Matt replied proudly, gently tilting his sister’s chin to look into her eyes. He gently wiped the tears away, smiling affectionately at her. “And if anything happens, you know you can always come find me. I’ll always help you.” he promised, smiling brightly. Katie returned the smile, somewhat less excitedly, but returned it all the same.

“T-Thanks, Matt…” she mumbled, averting her gaze from her brother’s.

“It’s no problem, Katie. Anything for my little sister.” 

~

Returning to high school felt odd. It had been two years since Matt had stepped foot onto the campus, and yet he knew his way around instantly. Shiro walked by his side, keeping the easy silence between the pair of them. They had returned for the annual awards ceremony for their graduating students, of which Keith and Pidge were both receiving awards at; Keith for maths, and Pidge for physics.

“It feels weird to be back, huh?” Shiro asked, smiling down at his companion.

“Yeah. I didn’t realise I remembered the place so well.” Matt replied. “I woulda thought I’d get lost. Pidge offered to come find me at main reception.”

Shiro laughed, the sound echoing through the quiet corridors. “She’s a lot more willing than Keith. He didn’t even consider the possibility of me getting lost.” 

“Matt! Shiro!” a female voice called out, causing the pair to look up. A figure stood at the end of the corridor, waving her arms.

“Pidge!” Matt yelled, breaking into a sprint to meet the younger girl. She laughed as Matt swept her off her feet, hugging her tightly. “I’m so proud of you!” he said, gently placing Pidge back down. 

“Eh, it was nothing. I was always a good student.” Pidge teased, smiling over her brother’s shoulder at Shiro. “It’s nice to see you again too, Shiro. You look a lot different to last time I saw you.” 

Shiro laughed, shaking his head. “Nice to see you too, Pidge.” he said warmly, before looking around into the distance. “Is Keith around?” 

She nodded, pointing off down the corridor. “Last door on the right is his classroom. He’s probably still talking to his maths teacher.” 

“Thanks.” Shiro murmured, smiling at the pair. “I’ll catch you two up in a bit, okay? I need to see Keith before it starts.” 

“Gotcha, Shiro.” Matt replied, smiling brightly before turning his attention back to Pidge. “I don’t know how you do it, Pidge.”

“What, get good grades? Easy. Don’t study the night before you exam and do no other revision before it.” she stated, shaking her head at Matt. “Considering how little work you did, your grades weren’t even that bad.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t get the best results in the entire year group.” Matt returned, a proud smile creeping across his face again. “Everyone’s so proud of you, Pidge.” 

Pidge flushed, shaking her head. “I couldn’t have done it without you, Matt. You gave me a lot of help, even after you went to the Garrison.” 

“Me? Nah, don’t underestimate your talent, Pidge. You’re so smart.” he murmured, gently brushing a lock of hair out of the girl’s eyes. “Now go. You gotta get ready for mum and dad to get here. They’re gonna be crying the instant they see you.” 

Pidge laughed, turning to walk back to her classroom before looking over her shoulder at Matt. “I love you, Matt.”

“Love you too, sis. Now go!”


	15. For Cherry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Plance superhero AU, where the pair join forces with Keith.**

“Lance, do you really have to be so reckless all the time?” Pidge squeaked, shaking her head at her companion.

“I mean, no, but it’s more fun when I’m reckless.” Lance replied, smiling mischievously. “Come _on_ , Pidge! We’re superheroes! We’re supposed to do daring things and look cool while we’re doing it!” 

“I hate you.” Pidge grumbled, crossing her arms. “We’re not immortal, Lance. If you get killed, what am I supposed to do?” 

“Uh...find a new teammate?” Lance offered pathetically. 

“I guess I couldn’t possibly do worse than you.” Pidge reasoned, raising an eyebrow. 

“Now you’re just being mean.” Lance pouted, sitting down in front of Pidge. “I’m trying to do my job in a cool way, Pidge, stop raining on my parade.” 

“So protecting the city isn’t quite cool enough for you yet?” Pidge deadpanned, rolling her eyes. 

The Cuban boy sighed dramatically, getting to his feet again. “Lighten up, Pidge! I know you secretly love all of this stuff.”

“I enjoy the technology side of it. We do get some really cool equipment.” Pidge mused, her eyes lighting up with excitement. 

Lance smiled, nodding encouragingly. “That’s the spirit!”

She turned to look at him again, sighing exasperatedly. “Just because I enjoy that doesn’t mean I’m okay without trying to jump from building to building without any kind of special aid.”

“Parkour?” Lance suggested weakly, earning a groan from Pidge.

“Like I said, you’re the worst. Maybe I should look into a replacement…” Pidge muttered, hearing a horrified gasp come from Lance.

“You would never!” he cried, grabbing Pidge’s hands and dramatically placing them over his heart. “Don’t do this to me, Katie!” he yelled, falling to the ground melodramatically. “I can’t live without you!”

“Lance!” she yelled, causing Lance to freeze and look up at her in surprise. “Stop fooling around. We have a job to do.” 

“You’re no fun, Pidge.” Lance sulked, returning to his sitting position. The pair lapsed into silence, staring out across the city skyline.

~

“I don’t care if you like him, he’s a threat to our careers, Lance.”

It had only been a few weeks since their last job, and in that time someone else had shown up in the city, claiming to also be a superhero. Lance and Pidge were skeptical at first, with Pidge claiming it was likely a fake and there was no risk to either of them.

However, as time went on, the talent of this apparent superhero became noticed by locals. Often a job would be completed before Lance and Pidge even heard about it, and they would discover the superhero dressed entirely in red and black had managed to slip in before them.

They’d only had two run-ins with him; one being when he first arrived, and the second being that very day. They hadn’t really spoken on both occasions. 

“He’s not that bad. I bet we could convince him to team up with us.” Lance returned, narrowing his eyes. “You can’t try and tell me he’s not talented. We could totally use someone like him on our side.” 

Pidge raised an eyebrow. “He’s doesn’t really seem like the teamwork kinda guy.” she retorted, sighing exasperatedly. “I don’t know what we can do. He’s clearly more capable than both of us combined.” 

“We can’t just give up, though.” Lance muttered, frowning. “In fact, I’ll try talking to him.”

“Are you sure that’s gonna work?” Pidge asked skeptically. 

“I’ll make it work. He’s clearly not stupid. Even he’ll be able to see there’s a lot he can gain from working with us.” Lance murmured, smiling at Pidge encouragingly. “What’s the worst that can happen, anyway?”

~

Lance finally managed to track down the mysterious superhero a few weeks later, after constantly missing him by a few a minutes. 

“Hey!” Lance yelled out, catching the attention of the other male. He looked smaller than in the photographs, and his dark hair was messier.

“Yeah?” the raven-haired male returned, narrowing his eyes. “Lance, isn’t it?” 

“Correct. And what should I call you?” 

“Keith.” the boy responded smoothly, raising an eyebrow. “You’ve been looking for me, haven’t you?” 

Lance felt his eyes widen in surprise. “H-How did you know?” he stuttered.

“I caught on pretty quick. I figured you were trying to track me down, so I made it a little easier.” Keith replied.

“Oh.” Lance said, finding himself lost for words - a rare occurrence. “So, uh...you know this city well?”

“Yeah. I moved here for a while before going elsewhere. When I came back, I figured I could use my talents for the greater good.” Keith explained, crossing his arms over his chest. “You clearly didn’t hunt me down for small talk, though. What do you want what from me?”

“You cut to the chase pretty quick.” Lance muttered to himself, before raising his gaze and fixing it on Keith’s violet eyes. “I know I probably sound crazy, but I really wanna work with you,” 

Keith visibly recoiled, eyes widening in shock. “As you what?” he asked quietly.

“I just…I think me, you and Pidge could make a pretty awesome team. Pidge is super smart, and she’s always making all kinds of new tech, and I’m pretty good at talking to people.”

Keith didn’t speak for a few moments, and Lance began to dread the worst. However, Keith spoke up. “I don’t know you two that well, but...I’m willing to give it a shot.”

Lance’s eyes lit up. “Really?” he squeaked, smiling brightly. 

“Yeah. How bad can it be?” Keith reasoned, a slight smile spreading across his face. “Besides, you two were pretty successful before I came and stole the show.” he teased.

“Yeah, we could’ve done without that.” Lance joked. “I’m sure it’ll be great having you with us, though, Keith.” 

“I hope I can be of good service to you both. After all, we’re all here to protect the city to the best of our abilities.”

“And that’s what we’ll always do.”


	16. For Ami

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Following on from the Klance snowball fight, the pair return home for hot chocolate.**

It didn’t take the pair long to return from their morning walk turned snowball fight, although the second round had left both of them freezing and eager to get back to the warmth of their small home. Upon their arrival, Lance went straight to the kitchen to begin making hot chocolate whilst Keith dashed upstairs to get blankets and change into something warmer before starting a fire up. 

The Cuban boy hummed to himself as he worked, taking his time to make sure everything was in the right measurements and proportions. He didn't really want to screw up and risk disappointing Keith, especially when he had a big announcement coming up. He wanted the moment to be absolutely perfect. 

He wondered how Keith would take the announcement. He hoped he’d take it well, to be honest, because he didn’t really think he could take a bad reaction after all the time he’d spent working up his nerve. 

He soon finished up making the hot chocolate and carried them off into the sitting room, where Keith had just finished setting the fire and had retreated to one of the large armchairs. There were some blankets thrown haphazardly on the armchair opposite which Lance assumed were for himself.

“Is that any better, my darling Keith?” Lance teased, placing both mugs down on the small coffee table and looking over at his boyfriend. He looked up again to see Keith was glaring back at him. “You look so pleased.”

“I was pleased until you started speaking.” Keith replied, picking up his mug and taking a sip of hot chocolate. 

“My bad.” Lance said, raising an eyebrow. “Are you still cold?”

“No.” Keith replied, before relenting slightly. “I’m kidding, Lance. I’m not really still mad at you.” 

“Coulda fooled me.” Lance replied, faking offence. 

“I love you really.”

“You’re just mad I whipped your ass in a snowball fight. _Twice_.” Lance stated, smirking slightly at the smaller boy.

“I could’ve beaten you.” Keith argued, curling up even further into his chair. “I let you win.”

“Yeah, yeah. That’s what all the sore losers say.” Lance taunted, giggling at Keith’s reaction. 

“I am not a sore loser!” the boy squeaked, sitting upright and narrowing his eyes at Lance.

“Mhm. I’m sure you’re not.” Lance replied, taking a long sip of his hot chocolate. “I believe you.”

“I don’t know why I accept this needless cruelty, Lance.” the raven-haired boy complained. “You're too sarcastic for me.” 

“ _I’m_ too sarcastic?” Lance asked disbelievingly, earning a quiet laugh from Keith. “That's rich coming from you, Edge Master 300.” 

Keith rolled his eyes and sat back again, wrapping his blanket tighter around his body. “Why do I put up with you?” 

“Because you love me so much and you would be incomplete without me?” Lance suggested, smiling angelically and batting his eyelashes.

Keith snorted with laughter, nodding. “I guess you could say that.” he replied, smiling fondly at his boyfriend. “I am...really lucky to have you, though. Even though I insult you all the time, I’m so glad you stick with me.” the boy confessed.

Lance smiled brightly, setting down his mug again and fixing his attention purely on the boy opposite him. “Keith, I wouldn’t leave your side if it killed me. You're everything to me. All I want is to see you happy and safe and healthy. I love you so much.” 

Keith flushed a soft pink, averting his gaze from Lance’s. “Thanks for sticking with me all this time. I know I’m difficult.”

“It’s worth it if I get you.” Lance replied. “Yeah, you’re a stubborn asshole sometimes, but when that gentler side of you breaks through...that’s what I love about you. You’re so well-guarded, but when people you trust are around, they get to see the rest of you. You’re really something special, Keith.” Lance murmured, slipping out of his chair to perch beside Keith’s. He took the boy’s hand into his own and raised it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to the back of it. “I have an early present for you, actually.”

“You do?” Keith asked, confusion evident in his expression.

“Yeah. I was gonna save it for tomorrow, but I thought it’d be nicer if I gave it to you today. After all, it’ll probably get quite hectic on Christmas Day.” Lance explained, moving to be in front of Keith. The boy’s eyes widened as Lance shifted his position to be on one knee, a small box in his hands.

“Listen, Keith, I know this might seem early. But you are truly everything to me, and you make my life so much better. I love being around you every single day and I want to be around you for every single day until I die. You’re all that matters to me, Keith. So…” Lance paused, taking a deep breath to steady his nerves before continuing. “Will you make me the luckiest man alive and marry me?” he finished, opening up the box to reveal a small, delicate band. 

Keith felt tears well up in his eyes, which he silently blinked away before meeting Lance’s gaze again. “I...I’d love to…” the boy murmured, a stray tear slipping down his cheek. “Yes!”

Lance beamed, slipping the ring onto his lover’s fingers and reaching up to kiss him. “I figured you wouldn’t want anything super fancy, so I got something I thought was your taste.” he explained as Keith admired the golden band. It was plain, with a few etchings and small red crystals set into it. 

“I love it. And I love you even more.” Keith murmured, kissing Lance once again.

“I’m just glad you didn’t turn me down.” Lance replied with relief, smiling brightly at his new fiancé. 

Keith simply laughed, shaking his head at the taller boy. “Lance, you must be insane if you really think I could turn you down. I wouldn’t be happy if I said no.”

“Best Christmas ever?” Lance asked, feeling his smile spread impossibly wider.

“You know it.”


	17. For Sarah

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: It’s all just Langst at this point**

The warnings of his teammates were too little, too late, Lance discovered. He found himself face-to-face with Haggar before he even realised what was happening, and he didn’t have chance to retreat before she had an iron grip on his shoulder. He struggled for a few moments, attempting to free himself from her grip before realising all his efforts were in vain. 

“L-Let me go!” Lance yelled, trying to ignore how his voice shook with obvious fear. 

Haggar simply laughed, shaking her head. “You really think I would let you go that easily?” she asked, shaking her head. “You humans truly are pathetic.” 

She looked up from Lance now, at something behind him - Lance assumed - hoped - this would be his team. 

“Haggar, release him now.” came a deep voice, one Lance automatically recognised as Shiro’s. “Don’t make us force you to let him go.”

“I doubt you’ll be doing anything of the sort.” Haggar replied, eyes now fixed on Shiro. “I don’t need him, anyway.” 

“Then let him go.” 

“It’s not that simple, Black Paladin. I have something I wish to do first.” Haggar murmured, focusing her attention back onto Lance.

Lance was suddenly unaware of the voices of his teammates, the sound of battle raging around them - everything seemed to be silenced, as though the world had been put on mute. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. Slowly he felt himself become more aware of his thoughts; particular ones begin to rise to the surface.

First there was Shiro, his leader, his idol. The man had been one of his biggest inspirations ever since he’d first arrived at the Garrison, and whenever Shiro had come to watch a class or help a teacher, Lance had tried to put his best foot forward to try and impress the talented pilot. Getting put onto a team with Shiro was even more incredible, and Lance had never felt so lucky in his life. He soon realised, however, working with Shiro was not what he had anticipated. The man barely ever gave him the compliments and praise he wanted so desperately to hear; most of that fell to Keith or Pidge, who seemed to be always able to do the right thing. He tried to keep up with all his might, but he soon realised Keith was already miles ahead of him when it came to piloting, and Shiro’s attention would only ever be on the most talented member of the group.

Next there was the Red Paladin himself, Keith. God, how Lance hated Keith. The boy had been his rival for years, and every time would arise victorious. It drove Lance insane, and eventually the rivalry became more of jealousy towards the talented young man. When Keith had left the Garrison, it was like the pressure was lifted from Lance slightly - he no longer had to compete with Keith from a lower class, and could focus on his studies much easier. Being part of Voltron alongside Keith would maybe, Lance initially hoped, make room for a potential friendship to blossom. That never happened though. Keith was the one who got credit for everything anything, regardless of whether or not it was his idea or plan in the first place. Lance couldn’t stand it - nobody else seemed to get credit when Keith was around.

Then came Pidge, the youngest member of their team. Lance had always thought of Pidge as a little sister, and she seemed to look up to him as a brother in the absence of Matt. Throughout their time at the Garrison, the pair shared a familiar, albeit unlikely, bond - nobody would’ve seen the friendship the two struck up coming from a mile away. Once they had left the Garrison and formed Team Voltron though, their bond seemed to become somewhat tense. Pidge often took Lance’s jokes too seriously, and often shoved off his brotherly affection. It was rare for her to act like this, especially considering how close to pair had been for so long. Lance eventually learned to lay off, though, and rarely bothered Pidge nowadays. 

Finally, there was Hunk. The two had struck up their friendship on their first day at the Garrison, quickly becoming close friends. Ever since then, the two had roomed together, and were rarely seen apart. Lance was pretty certain the pair would never split up, even after leaving the Garrison. He hated to admit he was wrong. After the formation of Team Voltron, Hunk slowly became more and more distance, instead growing closer to his other teammates. Lance tried not to let this bother him, but he soon found it impossible to ignore the constant rejection from Hunk in favour of his other teammates, and he stopped going to Hunk when he needed someone to talk to or hang out with.

There was one memory Lance didn’t expect, though. He was stood before Princess Allura, who wore an expression of distaste and unhappiness. “Lance...I really don’t know about your suitability for the Blue Lion. I don’t know if you really work well with the other paladins.” she explained, although she barely kept the venom out of her voice. Lance simply nodded, dumbstruck, although he could feel the tears welling up. “You don’t really deserve the Blue Lion anyway.”

That memory was fleeting, flashing past in just moments compared to the others, and Lance felt himself pull out of thoughts and become more present in the real world. It was strange - he couldn’t tell how much of what he just witnessed was fiction. He could now focus back on the sounds of battle, Haggar’s hand gripping his shoulder, the yelling of Shiro.

Haggar was studying his face with a look of confusion and anger. “I don’t understand. Why isn’t this affecting you?” she shrieked, voice filled with rage.

Lance smiled slightly, eyes filled with sadness. “I guess you don’t realise, Haggar. This isn’t anything I’m not used to on a daily basis.”


End file.
